Malik Allen, 8, is coming to terms with saying goodbye to his best friend. The two classmates had been in a Chinese immersion program at Baltimore International Academy since they were in kindergarten.

"He used to always play with each other a lot. Sometimes we would get in trouble, but we would always be friends," Malik said. "I love him."

At the school, Principal John Enkiri said students and staff are consoling each other.

"As a principal, it's very hard, especially when I came to the school, he came to the school. He started kindergarten and I started with him," Enkiri said.

Yuan Yuan Chen, a teacher, said she broke into tears after learning about what had happened to her student and his mother.

"He was very interested. He was very eager to learn. He was one of my top students," Chen said.

The school has brought in counselors, who met with about 60 to 70 students Friday.School officials said Jennifer Jeffrey Browne was very supportive of her son's education. Relatives told 11 News that she recently married the boy's father, who is incarcerated. In 2008, Kester Browne Jr., 37, pleaded guilty to first-degree assault after a home invasion and shooting. He's serving a 12-year prison sentence.

In a letter to a judge in 2011 seeking a sentence reduction, Kester Browne Jr. wrote, "I am ready to take the next step. My family needs me right now. There is an epidemic going on with gangs in the state of Maryland. I refuse to stand by and do nothing. I no longer want to be a part of the problem."